Cellist Maya Beiser takes cutting-edge approach to music

Published 12:01 pm, Wednesday, September 30, 2015

﻿Cellist Maya Beiser﻿ uses technology to expand the sound and scope of her music.

﻿Cellist Maya Beiser﻿ uses technology to expand the sound and scope of her music.

Photo: Jill Steinberg

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The Society for the Performing Arts will present avant-garde cellist Maya Beiser on Oct. 2, 2015.

The Society for the Performing Arts will present avant-garde cellist Maya Beiser on Oct. 2, 2015.

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Cellist Maya Beiser takes cutting-edge approach to music

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"Music goes directly to the soul," declares Maya Beiser. "It's a purely spiritual entity because it directly enters us, without obstacles. And it connects us all together."

Beiser is a virtuoso on the cello - the most "classical" of instruments. But the 49-year-old Israeli-born musician won't be playing anything by Beethoven when she's in Houston on Friday.

Instead, she'll perform some classic rock from her CD "Uncovered," including songs by Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, AC/DC and Janis Joplin. In the second half of the show, she'll play pieces especially written for her.

For this kind of unorthodox programming, the Washington Post dubbed her "the reigning queen of the avant-garde cello."

Beiser was raised on a kibbutz and came to the U.S. in 1987. She soon made a name for herself as the cellist in the New York ensemble Bang on a Can All-Stars, which is known for cutting-edge repertoire.

Her newest production, brought to the Wortham Theater Center by the Society for the Performing Arts, is called "All Vows." She says the title is inspired by the "Kol Nidre," a Jewish prayer written more than 1,000 years ago in the Aramaic language.

"I'm starting the second part of the show with 'Kol Nidre,' " she says. "I'll be playing the cello and singing in Aramaic. I'll perform a setting that was written for me by Mohammed Fairouz. It's a beautiful gift that he has created."

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Fairouz is an American composer of Palestinian origin who is much feted in the classical music world.

Beiser talks about working with Fairouz as though nothing was unusual in a Jewish Israeli and a Muslim Arab creating art together. But when asked about the unlikely collaboration, she has a ready answer.

"Yes, it is unusual," she acknowledges, "and that's part of the idea. It's very important for me to make the statement that we're all family. We have to focus on the things that unite us, as opposed to the things that divide us. The idea is to present music as a spiritual experience, transcending any particular religion."

"All Vows," in some ways, is a small production: The only musicians on stage are a cellist, a bass player and a drummer.

However, Beiser knows some technological ways to fill a large hall with the sound of just one cello.

"I'll be using all kinds of electronics and computers to extend my cello," she says, "so you'll hear a lot of overdubbed tracks and looping."

"All Vows" is also a multimedia show, with projected images by filmmaker Bill Morrison.

Some classically trained musicians are stand-offish about technology, seeing it as foreign to their kind of music. But Beiser has embraced it as a fundamental aspect of her art.

"When people think of the cello," she proposes, "they think of a particular sound, which is a very beautiful sound. But I wanted to find new and different sounds. I've always been interested in the possibility of expanding what can be done with my cello."

Beiser has built up an audience for her unique music. But who, exactly, are her fans?

"They're people who are intellectually curious," she replies. "They're people who would go to a new art exhibition, or go to see modern dance, or films from the Sundance Film Festival. And I'm always surprised by the wide range of ages. I have a lot of young people at my concerts - but also older people who find my music compelling."